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WDAM-TV
CityLaurel, Mississippi
Channels
Branding
  • WDAM 7(general)
  • WDAM 7 News (newscasts)
Programming
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
June 8, 1956(68 years ago)(1956-06-08)
Former call signs
WDAM (1956–1978)
Former channel number(s)
  • Analog:9 (VHF, 1956–1959), 7 (VHF, 1959–2009)
  • Digital:28 (UHF,2001–2010)
Call signmeaning
David A. Matison (founding owner)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID21250
ERP75kW
HAAT155 m (509 ft)
Transmitter coordinates31°27′13″N89°17′5″W/ 31.45361°N 89.28472°W/31.45361; -89.28472
Translator(s)WLHA-LD 7.10 (main channel)
Links
Public license information
Websitewww.wdam

WDAM-TV(channel 7) is atelevision stationlicensed toLaurel, Mississippi,United States, serving theHattiesburgarea as an affiliate ofNBCandABC.It is owned byGray Televisionalongsidelow-powerTelemundoaffiliate WLHA-LD (channel 18). The two stations share studios onUS 11inunincorporatedMosellein southernJones County,where WDAM-TV's transmitter is also located.

History

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WDAM-TV, named for the initials of the original owner David A. Matison, signed on June 8, 1956, airing ananalogsignal on VHF channel 9, then allocated to Hattiesburg. At that time it carried both NBC and ABC. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with theNTA Film Network.[2]Meanwhile, in 1957, the Laurel Television Company won its bid for a new station on channel 7, which took the call letters WTLM. The company was owned by William S. Smylie, the mayor ofMeridian,and had been able to secure the permit when Meridian's silent UHF station,WCOC-TV,dropped its proposal to move channel 7 from Laurel toPachutafor its use.[3]

The Lion Television Corporation, which was the licensee of WDAM-TV, became majority-owned byNew OrleansstationWDSU-TVin 1956; WDAM already received all of its network programs from that station via microwave link.[4]WDSU also owned a controlling stake in the Modern Broadcasting Company, which ownedWAFB-TV,a struggling UHF station inBaton Rouge.In October 1957, Lion proposed to the FCC that channel 9 be moved from Hattiesburg to Baton Rouge for WAFB-TV's use, with WDAM-TV reaching an agreement to take over the channel 7 Laurel allocation;[5]in the application, the company noted that it felt that the market could only sustain one commercial television station.[6]The FCC initially turned down the application in May 1958,[7]but it ultimately permitted the change in 1959, provided that the Baton Rouge station compete with other applicants for use of channel 9.[8]On September 3, 1959, WDAM-TV moved to channel 7 at Laurel, leaving the Pine Belt with one VHF station.[9]Coinciding with the move, Smylie's group—having held the chapter 7 construction permit the whole time—became the South Mississippi Television Company and bought the physical plant, taking operational control of the station.[10]

In 1962, WDAM dropped its secondary ABC affiliation to become a sole NBC affiliate. In 1967, WDAM-TV purchasedWCFT-TVofTuscaloosa, Alabama.[11]license holding changed its name to Service Broadcasters, Inc. In 1978, Beam Broadcasters purchased the stations from Service Broadcasters; it ultimately owned three stations before almost being foreclosed on in 1989 to satisfy $45 million of debt that Beam owedChase Bank;[12]the company went into bankruptcy, emerged as Beacon Communications Corporation, and sold WDAM to Federal Broadcasting in 1990. The station was acquired by current ownerRaycom Mediain 1997. However, Raycom owned WHLT at the time and had to sell it toMedia Generalin order to comply withFederal Communications Commission(FCC)duopolyrules. In 2008, the station added a new position, web manager, and updated its website to conform to modern standards. That same year, the station launched "wdamtogo", a site designed for internet-capable mobile devices. In 2010, the station launched news and weather smart phone applications along with a photo and video sharing service called "Send It to Seven". In 2011, the station launched a secondary set of websites for each community of over 20,000 people in the station's viewing area called "WDAM Neighborhoods"; those sites were retired in early 2014. In early 2012, WDAM launched tablet applications.

Over the years, WDAM has been home to personnel who achieved fame either locally or nationally. Bobby Smith worked at the station since a week after it signed on until 2011. Weathercaster Jim Gibbon was a staple of WDAM's weekday morning and noon shows for 43 years until his retirement in March 2007. He died nearly two months later on April 25. Sports Director Mitchell Williams retired in 2011 after 27 years at the station. In January 2012, William "Dubbie" White retired after 45 years with the station. Jim Cameron retired in 2013 after 22 years as general manager. Randy Swan, formerly news director for 24 years, and news anchor was with the station for over three decades leaving for only a brief period when he served in the same position withWABG-TVin theGreenwood–Greenville, Mississippimarket. Swan's father, Jimmy Swan, was a well known radio personality andcountry/bluegrasssinger/bandleader during the late 1950s and 1960s who also ran forGovernor of Mississippi.Randy Swan retired in 2015 and his last day on air was February 27, 2015. Miranda Beard was with the station nearly three decades. Her last day on air was February 25, 2016. CurrentGood Morning Americaco-hostRobin Robertswas a sports anchor at WDAM in the early 1980s.

In 2001, the station signed on its digital signal on UHF channel 28. WDAM signed off its analog signal on June 12, 2009, and began broadcasting exclusively in digital. With thedigital television transition,the station added two new channels to its lineup on 7.2 and 7.3. On January 28, 2010, WDAM moved from UHF channel 28 to the pre-digital allotment on VHF channel 7. An early field test showed a dramatically improved signal in areas that were lost after the original digital transition.

On May 30, 2012, Raycom Media and ABC jointly announced that WDAM had entered into a long-term affiliation agreement. This resulted in WDAM-DT2 droppingThis TVin favor of ABC on June 11. Prior to the change, ABC had not been seen locally in the Hattiesburg–Laurel market since 1962 after the main WDAM channel dropped its secondary arrangement with the network. After that, WLOX in Biloxi began serving as the Pine Belt's default affiliate and would subsequently become a sister outlet to WDAM in 2006.[13][14]

By March 2020, theover-the-airfeed of WDAM-DT2 was upgraded into720pHD;it had been airing in the4:3standard definitionpicture format, before then.[15]

Sale to Gray Television

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On June 25, 2018,Atlanta-basedGray Televisionannounced it had reached an agreement with Raycom to merge their respective broadcasting assets (consisting of Raycom's 63 existing owned-and/or-operated television stations, including WDAM-TV), and Gray's 93 television stations) under the former's corporate umbrella. The cash-and-stock merger transaction valued at $3.6 billion – in which Gray shareholders would acquire preferred stock currently held by Raycom – resulted in WDAM-TV gaining newsister stationsin nearby markets, including CBS/ABC affiliateKNOE-TVinMonroe, Louisianaand ABC affiliateWTOK-TVin Meridian. The combined company is now in every Mississippi market except for Greenville and Columbus–Tupelo as a result.[16][17][18][19]The sale was approved on December 20,[20]and was completed on January 2, 2019.[21]In mid-2021, Gray launched a low-powered repeater,WLHA-LDon UHF channel 18, which currently has three blank subchannels (18.1, 18.2, 18.3) with forthcoming programming and a repeater of WDAM's main channel on 18.4, remapped to channel 7.10. On April 13, 2023, WDAM announced that WLHA has picked up theTelemundoaffiliation for the Pine Belt area.[22]

Programming

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WDAM carriedStar Trek: Voyagerduring the 1995–1996 season, airing theUPNprogram at 6 p.m. on Saturdays.[23]

On December 30, 2023, WDAM-TV parent company Gray Television announced it had reached an agreement with theNew Orleans Pelicansto air 10 games on the station during the2023–24 season.[24]

Newscasts

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Since WDAM is the only local television station to offer the most newscasts, it has traditionally been aratingspowerhouse. As asemi-satelliteof Jackson'sWJTV,rivalCBSaffiliateWHLTprovides local coverage. WHLT airs a 30-minute local newscast weeknights at 10 p.m. In addition, the only other newscast simulcasted on WHLT is WJTV's weekday morning show. WLOX in Biloxi, also owned by Gray Television, shares resources with WDAM.

With the addition of ABC network programming on WDAM-DT2, simulcasts of some local newscasts from the main channel are included on its schedule. More specifically, this includes the entire weekday morning show as well as weeknight broadcasts at 5 and 10. An exclusive newscast airs weeknights at 6:30 on WDAM-DT2. Weekend simulcasts include Saturdays at 6 p.m. and both nights at 10. With the simulcasts, however, there can be delays and/or preemptions on one programming service due to network obligations. WDAM's half-hour early afternoon newscast at noon and weeknight 6 p.m. newscast are not seen on the second subchannel.

On September 10, 2012, WDAM became the first television station in the Pine Belt to broadcasts its newscasts in high definition. This included a new set and weather center, along with HD versions of its graphics.

Notable former on-air staff

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Subchannels

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The station's digital signal ismultiplexed:

Subchannels of WDAM-TV[25]
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming
7.1 1080i 16:9 WDAM-DT NBC
7.2 720p ABC ABC
7.3 480i 4:3 Bounce Bounce TV
7.4 16:9 Crime True Crime Network
7.5 Circle The365
7.6 Grit Grit

References

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  1. ^"Facility Technical Data for WDAM-TV".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^"Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films",Boxoffice:13, November 10, 1956
  3. ^"Laurel Television Unopposed For Channel 7".Hattiesburg American.Associated Press. January 19, 1957. p. 16.RetrievedApril 28,2021.
  4. ^"WDSU Plans To Buy Control Of Local TV Station".Hattiesburg American.August 9, 1956. p. 1.RetrievedApril 28,2021.
  5. ^"TV Station Plans Switch To Channel 7".Hattiesburg American.October 29, 1957. p. 2.RetrievedApril 28,2021.
  6. ^"Proposed TV Shuffle Itemized".Hattiesburg American.Associated Press. October 30, 1957. pp. 1-A,2-A.RetrievedApril 28,2021.
  7. ^"TV Channel Change Is Turned Down".Hattiesburg American.Associated Press. May 16, 1958. p. 11-A.RetrievedApril 28,2021.
  8. ^"TV Channel 9 Will Shift To Baton Rouge".Hattiesburg American.Associated Press. June 2, 1959. p. 1.RetrievedApril 28,2021.
  9. ^"TV Channel Change Delayed".Hattiesburg American.August 31, 1959. p. 1.RetrievedApril 28,2021.
  10. ^"South Mississippi Firm Buys WDAM-TV".The Clarion-Ledger.August 31, 1959. p. 4.RetrievedApril 28,2021.
  11. ^"Two local men in group taking over Alabama TV station".Hattiesburg American.Associated Press. August 25, 1967. p. 12.RetrievedApril 28,2021.
  12. ^Williams, M. E. (March 21, 1989)."WDAM-TV being sold for debt".Hattiesburg American.pp. 1A,8A.RetrievedApril 28,2021.
  13. ^"ABC Announcement Page - WDAM.COM - TV 7 - News, Weather and Sports".wdam.Archived fromthe originalon June 24, 2012.
  14. ^"Nexttv | Programming| Business | Multichannel Broadcasting + Cable | nexttv".NextTV.September 15, 2023.
  15. ^"WDAM-TV LAUREL, MS".rabbitears.info.
  16. ^"GRAY AND RAYCOM TO COMBINE IN A $3.6 BILLION TRANSACTION"(Press release).Raycom Media.June 25, 2018.
  17. ^Miller, Mark K. (June 25, 2018)."Gray To Buy Raycom For $3.6 Billion".TVNewsCheck.NewsCheckMedia.RetrievedJune 25,2018.
  18. ^Eggerton, John (June 25, 2018)."Gray Buying Raycom for $3.6B".Broadcasting & Cable.NewBay Media.
  19. ^Hayes, Dade (June 25, 2018)."Gray Acquiring Raycom For $3.65B, Forming No. 3 Local TV Group".Deadline Hollywood.Penske Media Corporation.
  20. ^"FCC OK with Gray/Raycom Merger".Broadcasting & Cable.December 20, 2018.RetrievedDecember 20,2018.
  21. ^"Gray Completes Acquisition of Raycom Media and Related Transactions"(PDF).Gray Television.January 2, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 2,2019.
  22. ^"Gray Television, WDAM 7 launches new Telemundo Pine Belt station".WDAM.April 18, 2023.RetrievedMay 25,2023.
  23. ^"May 13, 1995 TV Listings".Hattiesburg American.May 7, 1995. p. 111.
  24. ^"WAFB will televise 10 of this season's Pelicans games"(Press release).WAFB.December 30, 2023.RetrievedDecember 30,2023.
  25. ^"RabbitEars.Info".rabbitears.info.
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